I've been updating and summarizing some studies I've downloaded off NTRS courtesy mostly of links from nasaspaceflight.com forums. They are often long (the study summarized below is 857 pages!) and contain massive amounts of mineutia, but there are TONS of interesting data in there for those willing to look for it.

The following is my summary of the study with snips of relevant drawings and information. Hopefully it will be of use to those interested in Saturn Vehicle history and scale modeling. I plan to go through all the studies I have on my hard drive and summarize them and post those summaries here over time...

More to come! OL JR

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The X-87B Cruise Basselope-- THE Ultimate Weapon in the arsenal of Homeland Security and only $52 million per round!

Here is the first installment... the summary itself. Enjoy! OL JR

Attached Files

Saturn studies summary- Large Launch Vehicle System 1961.txt (12.2 KB, 112 views)

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The X-87B Cruise Basselope-- THE Ultimate Weapon in the arsenal of Homeland Security and only $52 million per round!

First pic is of the C-3 vehicle as proposed in this study-- 30 foot diameter, 2 F-1 engines peripherally mounted, 4 J-2 second stage, LR-115 (became RL-10) or single J-2 third stage 18 feet 4 inches in diameter...

http://www.oldrocketforum.com/attac...tid=23392&stc=1


Second pic is a closeup of the first stage showing the propellant line routing

http://www.oldrocketforum.com/attac...tid=23393&stc=1

Third pic is the "orbital launch vehicle" concept using integral tanks (common bulkhead tanks). This "OLV" was to be assembled in orbit from 5 launches of components on the C-3 vehicle, and then launched toward the moon from LEO (low earth orbit). Note the Apollo payload of the time was the direct descent model where the Apollo capsule would land on the moon on top of a lunar descent stage and be launched back to Earth using a lunar ascent stage under the Apollo capsule...

http://www.oldrocketforum.com/attac...tid=23394&stc=1

The fourth pic is the "OLV" using stages consisting of seperate tanks. Common bulkhead tanks were thought to be possible but seperate propellant tanks were also considered as a fallback position should difficulties in making them work crop up.

http://www.oldrocketforum.com/attac...tid=23395&stc=1

The fifth pic is a sideview diagram of the four J-2 engined second stage of the C-3 launcher.


http://www.oldrocketforum.com/attac...tid=23396&stc=1

Some of these pics I've put into paint and 'fixed' some of the poor image quality by going over faded lines and/or adding larger text or dimensions to make them more readable. Enjoy! OL JR

Attached Thumbnails

         

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The X-87B Cruise Basselope-- THE Ultimate Weapon in the arsenal of Homeland Security and only $52 million per round!

The first pic is of the second stage structures.



Second pic is of an interesting design for a C-3 alternative vehicle consisting of a first stage with a cluster of 7 SRMs topped by a second stage with 6 J-2 engines. It would make an interesting model. Note the stage/service module under the CM with it's cluster of LR-115 (RL-10) engines.



Third pic is the Saturn C-4, consisting of a 30 foot diameter first stage with 4 peripherally mounted F-1 engine, a second stage powered by 4 J-2 engines, and a 19 foot diameter single J-2 powered third stage for cargo missions, or a 14 foot diameter J-2 powered stage for the Apollo spacecraft...



The fourth pic is the NOVA C-8 concept... it would have a 48 foot diameter first stage powered by 8 peripherally mounted F-1 engines, a 34 foot diameter second stage powered by an 8 engine cluster of J-2's, and a 26 foot diameter third stage powered by a pair of J-2's. Vehicle height is shown to be 363 feet tall, which is exactly what Saturn V ended up being in lunar configuration!



The fifth pic is another C-8 Nova configuration that was studied (probably later since I don't think this pic came from the same study, but it was in the folder with it...) The second stage uses the familiar 396 inch diameter of the Saturn V's second stage (obviously S-II derived) with a cluster of 8 J-2's (which was also proposed in some Saturn V improvement studies as well along with 6 J-2 clusters) and the third stage shares the common 260 inch diameter of the S-IVB stage, though it's obviously stretched to hold propellant for a pair of J-2 engines. This would be a MUCH more likely NOVA candidate, due to the commonalities with stage sizes used on Saturn V... (tank stretches are relatively easy, but changing diameters requires all new tooling and handling fixtures, essentially a whole new stage!)



Later! OL JR

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The X-87B Cruise Basselope-- THE Ultimate Weapon in the arsenal of Homeland Security and only $52 million per round!

In 1961, the idea of using solid rocket first stages was really being explored in depth. The first pic shows some of the candidate concepts for a first stage consisting of solid rocket motors for a NOVA class vehicle. The first one is for a cluster of 7 15 foot diameter SRMs with 13 foot diameter nozzles which would have stood 82 feet high and been 45 feet in diameter across the widest point. The second is a cluster of 4 17.8 foot diameter SRMs with 15.8 foot diameter nozzles, standing 92.5 feet tall and 42.5 feet in overall diameter. The third is a concept of a 33.8 foot diameter SRM with a 34.1 foot diameter nozzle, standing 130 feet tall... in other words an SRM nearly the third of the size of the entire Saturn V stack and slightly larger in diameter. It was found to be TOTALLY unfeasible due to the extreme weight-- it would have to be segmented and each segment would be about 2 feet in length and still be unbelievably heavy, and even the end segments would have had to been divided up into six gore segments that would have to be bolted together on the launch pad when the engine was stacked. Additionally the propellant burn rates at the time would have had to been about three times faster to even make the motor physically feasible of working! Interesting "blue sky" thinking nonetheless!



The second pic is a solid/liquid vehicle concept consisting of a first stage consisting of a 7 motor cluster of SRMs with a 460 inch overall diameter, topped with a 440 inch diameter second stage using 8 J-2 engines arranged like the Saturn IB-- 4 J-2's clustered in the center and fixed, with the outer 4 J-2's clocked 45 degrees and gimballing for stability and control. No third stage is mentioned, so presumably this would be used to inject very large payloads into LEO, such as space stations, tankers, or spacecraft for deep space missions...



The third pic is of another NOVA vehicle concept... this one using a first stage powered by a cluster of 7 SRMs, topped by a large second stage powered by 4 HUGE LH2 engines in the 1.4 million pound thrust class (M-1's possibly?? This would have been a hydrogen engine about the same thrust class as the F-1). The third stage appears to be powered by a single J-2 engine. This would make a really interesting model as well...



The final pic is a diagram of the C-4 OLV which would have rendezvoused in orbit and docked with additional propulsion stages to go to the moon. Note the Apollo landing stage and ascent stage under the capsule...



This last pic is something of an orphan... the study it came from may (hopefully) turn up as I summarize them and organize... if it does I'll repost it with the relevant summary... This is another NOVA concept that would make an interesting model... it consists of a first stage consisting of a cluster of SIXTEEN! SRMs, 612 inches in diameter! The second stage consists of 4 SRMs in a 360 inch diameter cluster, topped by a third stage that is 360 inches in diameter powered by 6 "S-II" engines (presumably J-2) with a fourth stage that looks like a stretched 260 inch diameter S-IVB stage, powered by a pair of J-2 engines... what a COMPLETE MONSTER of an LV!!



Hope this has been interesting! Later! OL JR




Later! OL JR

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__________________
The X-87B Cruise Basselope-- THE Ultimate Weapon in the arsenal of Homeland Security and only $52 million per round!

Very cool stuff!

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I plan ahead that way I don't have to do anything right now.

Oh by the way, I'm not here just for the "olde" rocket discussions.